Last week’s football match against Kenyon College could have easily been a trap game for the Scots.† They easily could have looked past winless Kenyon at the huge game tomorrow against Wittenberg University and lost to Kenyon, who came out with a lot of fire looking to catch the Scots off guard.† But the Scots knew what they had to do in order to put themselves in a position for the NCAC crown and they took care of business, beating the Lords 31-6.† It was a dominant win, exactly the type of message that the Scots needed to send to Wittenberg on the eve of their big game.
Wooster needed the victory against Kenyon and a Wittenberg victory over Wabash to be able to play for the NCAC championship. If they slipped up against Kenyon or if Wabash pulled out a victory, the Scots playoff hopes would be dashed.† Wooster set the tone early, as Brandon Taylor ’14 scored his first touchdown on a one-yard run to cap a 11-play, 66-yard drive that put the Scots up 7-0 early.† The Scots remained dominant throughout the rest of the first quarter and on their second possession put together a 63-yard drive that was finished on a 14-yard run by quarterback Richard Barnes ’14.† The Scots took the 14-point lead into the second quarter when, after a questionable playcall where the Lords decided to take a 41-yard field goal on fourth and inches, the Scots benefited from a personal foul call after a 15-yard catch by Mike Redick ’11 to put them into Kenyon territory.† Barnes then threw one of the best passes of his career, a 40-yard bomb caught by a diving Robert Flagg ’12 that put the Scots up 21-0.† That would be the last score of the half as the Lords could not get anything going in the first half.
The Lords finally put some points on the scoreboard during the third quarter when quarterback Dan Shannon found Charles Small in the endzone.† The Lords struggled with field goals all day as they had missed three field goals before the touchdown.† The pattern didn’t change as the Lords banged the PAT off of the side of the goal post and left the score at 21-6.† The Scots’ offense faltered on their next possession, but so did the Lords.† A few plays later, Taylor Trout ’12, who was celebrating his 21st birthday, got a great present from Kenyon quarterback Dan Shannon as Trout picked him off and ran it 56 yards for an untouched touchdown, putting the Scots up 28-6.† The Scots would rack up a field goal in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Barnes had another strong game, going 15-24 with 210 yards and one touchdown. Flagg was stymied on the ground, but he was able to make an impact as a receiver, catching 4 passes for 80 yards. Redick also looked good, putting up over 100 receiving yards on eight catches.† The Wooster defense was dominant all game long, holding Kenyon to only 118 yards rushing and only 283 offensive yards. Dan Terhune ’12 had a huge game, getting two sacks and five tackles, while Jeremy Petit ’11 led the defense with 10 tackles.† This week, the Scots welcome ninth ranked Wittenberg to John P. Papp Stadium for a chance to take the NCAC title.